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1000 year Reign Church Fathers part 5
Other links- Augustine Bede Victorinus Hippolytus Various Ancient Commentators
According to Oecumenius
The prophet explains to us, "For a 1000 years in your sight, Lord, are like yesterday which is past, and a watch in the night.(Ps. 89:4)" So, then, the thousand years are reckoned as one day in the eyes of God. The second letter of the blessed Peter says the same, when he writes, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2Pet. 3:8)" So this is how it is: blessed Isaiah calls the whole incarnation of the Lord "a day," saying, "In a time of grace I heard you, and in a day of salvation I assisted you. (Is. 49:8)" Neither is this all: the psalmist also, calls it a day and an early morning, saying somewhere, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 117:24) with the joy of our salvation; elsewhere he sings, "in the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning I will stand by you, and you will see me. (Ps. 5:4)" For our prayers have been counted accepted and worthy of the vision of God the Father. They have become so by the intercession and atonement of the Lord. And again he says about Jerusalem, "God will help her in the early morning.(Ps. 45:6)" The incarnation of the Lord has become the day and morning, when 'the sun of righteousness, as Malachi call Him, shone upon us,(4:2) and brought us 'the light of knowledge.(Hos. 10:12)' Zechariah prophesied about this divine light saying, "When the rising of the sun dawned upon us from on high, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. (Lk. 1:78-79; Zec. 14:6-7)" In accord with this the prophet also said, "The Lord is God, and He has shone upon us; bind the festal procession together with branches, up to the horns of the alter.(Ps. 117:29)"
Since all this has already been explained, we must proceed to the matter in hand. Since I have already said that a day is reckoned 'as a 1000 years' by God, and again that the earthly residence of the Lord has been called 'a day' he says this day is a 1000 years, as though there is no distinction with God between one day and a 1000 years. It was in this period of the Lord's incarnation that the Devil was bound, so that he was unable to oppose the Savior's divine miracles. This was why the destructive demons recognized these spiritual bonds and cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of the living God? Have you come to torment us before the time?(Mt. 8:29)" The Lord also when talking of stripping off the bonds, said, "Or how can anyone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.(Mt. 12:29)" Since as was said, we have considered the incarnation of the Lord and his earthly residence to be both 'one day' and a 1000 years, such a number being used indifferently in Holy Scripture in mystical fashion, see what the Revelation says..
I saw another angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the bottomless pit and a chain, and bound him and threw him into the pit: As if in a sketch on a canvas, the evangelist perceives the spiritual action of the Lord against the Devil. Since it was not possible for a human being such as John to see spiritual events, they are depicted for him in physical terms- an angel with a chain binding the devil and throwing him into the bottomless pit. For this is how the book of Job also expressed in physical terms the Devil's venture and God's consent: it depicted the Devil begging God to give him Job, and it depicted God as making a suitable response to his request and giving him Job, and then went on to write the story. So you will be right in thinking that I am now doing the same.
That he should no longer deceive the nation, till the 1000 years were ended: For the Lord's sojourn on earth had to provide rather more succor and care so that the unclean demons might be prevented from exercising the same influence on human beings as they had in the time preceding the incarnation.
After that he must be loosed for a little while: What sort of little while does he mean? that between the incarnation of the Lord and the end of the present age; for this sort even if it may seem to be very long, when reckoned and compared with the past and the future. For if in the "last" hour, even in 'the eleventh' hour.(Mt. 20:6,9) our Lord appeared in bodily form to us, according to the belief of Holy Scripture, the time until the end has rightly been called short, after which the Devil will be bound again with an eternal and endless bond. But even now that he has been released, bind again, Lord, his wiles against us. For you are our king, and to you is due glory for ever. Amen.
Then I saw the thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was committed to them: He sees in his vision the holy apostles ‘seated on 12 thrones’ and ‘judging the 12 tribes of Israel, (Mt. 19:28)’ according to the promise made to them. Although this will be more fully effected in the age to come, it has already happened in some way in the time of the incarnation. For those who put their trust in the Lord and so received a share in countless benefits condemned those who refused to hasten to the faith and so, though taught by the grace given to the Apostles, did not attain the true worship of God, but rather devised a cross and death for him.
And the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony in Jesus and for the word of God: the verb ‘I saw’ in the phrase ‘those seated upon thrones and judging the rest of mankind’ is to be understood here, too. By ‘those who had been beheaded’ he means those who had been killed with an axe. He is speaking figuratively about those who had been put to death their own bodies because of their faith in Christ, and who endured very much because of it. For they expelled them from the synagogues, assaulted them with countless abuses, and plundered their personal possessions, when they put their faith entirely in Christ, as the wise apostle testifies.(Heb. 10:34) The Lord also spoke of them, “blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.(Matt. 5:11)” If you follow the sequence of the argument and subject every thought in obedience to Holy Scripture, you will understand that those who did not worship ‘the beast’ and did not receive ‘its mark or it image’ are those who did not agree with the rest of the Jews in their plots against the Lord, and who refused to obey the propositions of the abominable and blasphemous Devil. For this is to worship him and ‘his image.’ For by the word ‘image’ he means the imprint of the Devil’s will in the hearts of the Jews. He also means that this ‘mark’ includes both control and action. For the head, of which the forehead is a part, stands for control and the hand stands for action.
They came to life and reigned with Christ for a 1000 years: as was said earlier; he again calls the Lord’s domicile on earth ‘a 1000 years,’ during which they were living their spiritual life, and reigning together with Christ, as they gave orders to demons, by being present with Christ, the king of glory, that a person reigns together with him.(2Tim. 2:10-12) So the prophet said of them, “When the Heavenly One gives the orders, kings will be covered with snow in Salmon.(Ps. 67:15)”
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were ended: he call ‘dead’ those who have persisted in unbelief, about whom the Lord also said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.(Mt. 8:22)” So the unbelievers did not ‘come’ to the spiritual life until the time of the incarnation had ended, which is the ‘1000 year’; for they came to life only after this. How? By the coming and presence of the Holy Spirit. For by then most of the Jews had come to faith in Christ, who did not believe in him when he was physically dwelling and moving among them. The event was most divinely ordered, beyond the hope of any human mind. For when the Son had been proclaimed and made know in the old covenant as well as by his incarnation and his countless divine signs and miracle, the Holy Spirit had not yet been clearly revealed to man. There was only a report about the Spirit in the old covenant, but there was no manifest and perceptible work of the kind which specifically leads people to faith, as there was of the Son, even though the Spirit was being made known to those who had attained the depth of vision, because everything which has been done and effected has been accomplished by the Holy Trinity. The Lord clearly proves this, saying somewhere, “The Father has told me what I am to say and what I am to speak,(Jn. 12:49)” and again, “I can do nothing on my own,(Jn. 8:28)” referring the event s to the Trinity; and again in John, “The Son of man can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees his Father doing.(Jn. 5:19)” and elsewhere he asserts, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God.(Mt. 12:28)” But since as I have said, there was no perceptible work of the Holy Spirit available to human beings, it was arranged that almost all people should receive faith in Christ by the coming and the power of the Paraclete and of God the Father, in order that it might be clear to everyone that the Spirit was of the same substance as the Father and the Son, and possessed of the same power. Of course in the whole period of the incarnation not more than ‘a hundred and twenty’ are recorded as having been believers.(Acts 1:15) this was the number reckoned by Acts of those assembled in the upper room. Even if the power of the teaching of Christ had reached many others, their faith was maintained by the coming of the Spirit. So one might find that, just as when seed has been scattered the rain comes down and the sun shines upon all the seeds that up to this time have been unnoticed in the earth, and then they spring up and become visible, because they were wholly stored up in the earth, so too, the same thing happens at the coming of the Holy Spirit. All those in whom the teaching of the Lord had been sown sprang up into faith. So the Revelation accurately says that ‘the rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years had ended.’
This is the first resurrection: that is to say, which results from faith. The second will be the universal bodily resurrection.
Blessed is the one who has a share in the first resurrection: for we shall all have a share in the second, whether we like it or not.
second death will not have any power: that is, over those who share in the first resurrection, that is, the faithful. What sort of death is this? It is that quite clearly which results from sin and is followed by punishment. For just as he has spoken of the first and the second resurrection, so he speaks of the first and second death. The first one is the physical death, which separates the soul and the body, but the second death is the spiritual death, resulting from sin. The Lord said of this, “Do not fear those who kill the body; but rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.(Mt. 10:28)”
shall be priests of God and of Christ: That is, all the faithful were appointed priests of the evangelical word, about whom the prophet, striking the prophetic lyre, said, “You will make them rulers over the whole world.(Ps. 44:7)”
And they shall reign with Him for a 1000 years: which are the years of the incarnation, as I have said more than once.
And when the 1000 years are ended: That is, when the Lord has completed his course in the flesh and has gone back into Heaven, the Devil will be set free from his spiritual bonds and will again ‘deceive the nation.’ For it has already been said that the dwelling of the Lord with man nullified the activity of the Devil. But once the Lord has gone up into Heaven, both the Devil himself will carry on his own customary activity, and man on earth in their usual way will follow their free will. In the face of the Devil’s attempts to deceive everybody, some obey him, while others who refuse to do so struggle against the evil one. But perhaps someone will say, ‘Why in the world was the Devil, whose assault was restrained and hell in check by the bodily presence of the Lord again set free to deceive us upon the earth? For would it not have been setter for him to have been bound, and for man to continue undeceived” To such a one we should reply, “Why do you rather say, ‘Why did the Devil come into being at all, or when he had been created and then transgressed, why was he not utterly destroyed, to prevent him getting access against man?’ And how, my good fellow, would the contestants have been trained without any opponent? And how would the might of athletes have been shown if there were no competitors? For slothful man, giving way to their desires, go all awry when left to themselves without the presence of provocation of the Devil, whereas the people of God and noble contestants would be unfairly treated if they were not able publicly to display their courage in the face of their sufferings. So it turns out that whereas the slothful would have not benefit if Satan did not exist, the noble would suffer great unfairness. For Satan is a kind of trainer of human beings, providing an opportunity for the contestants to receive a crown of victory. For those who love sin, who in the absence of the Devil, have not been at all unfairly treated, as I have said. So in spite of himself he does well to some, and does harm, or very little to others. But on account of you and me, ‘the slaves of sin,’ irresponsible and irresolute, in order that we might suffer little or no further harm from the activity of the Devil, you wanted patriarchs and prophets, apostles and evangelist, those who had preserved in their witness to Christ unto death and had kept loyalty with him, as well as confessors and pastors who had faithfully guided the churches, and the most steadfast ascetics, and every righteous person perfected in the faith of Christ, ‘of whom this world was not worthy’ –you wanted them all to be deprived of glory. The noble contenders for virtue alleviate the penalty of those sinners who for quite a short time suffer harm. A single person who acts rightly is more honored by God than countless others who break faith.”
Both events have been effected in the best and most inspired way- the impious assaults of the Devil were checked during the bodily presence of the Lord, and after the Lord's ascension into heaven the Devil was freed to test man. For if Satan had been allowed to display all his activity when the Lord was dwelling on earth, he would not have permitted people either to hear his divine teachings or to learn who it is who is naturally and truly God, or the nature of the holy worship due to him, or the difference between evil and goodness. he would also have prepared the cross for him before the time, even before he began his teaching. If this had happened, the incarnation of the Lord and such a wonderfully glorious mystery would have been incomplete, or rather useless. But after those on earth had been taught these things while the Devil was in bondage, they were then able to use their own free will, and to continue the fight against the adversary on the basis of acknowledged and recognized ways both of evil and of good. For one who knows the good and that which is not so good is entirely free to choose either this or that. But one who does not know what he could do, is like a man wounded in a night battle who does not realize that he has been hit, and therefore does not recognize his own destruction. For the one who knows his adversaries has the opportunity to choose what he wishes, but there is no such opportunity for one who is ignorant.
For God created man in the beginning with free will and controlled by their own reasoning powers. But because they first needed to know good and evil, so that in this way there may be room for free will, see what Moses the divine lawgiver says in Deuteronomy to the disobedient people of the Israelites, "See I have set before your eyes this day life and death, good and evil, (Dt. 30:15)" so that the choice may be freely made between both. Again he says tin Exodus, "If you hearken attentively to my voice and do all that I say to you.(Ex. 23:22)" And what about Isaiah, who sets forth the same teaching near the beginning of his prophecy, saying in the person of God, "If you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and do not listen to me, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.(Is. 1:19-20)"
the Devil will come and deceive the nations: he now identifies the nations and their leaders.....
Gog and Magog gather them for war: the war is that against the saints: For after completing the account of the saving incarnation, he has returned to the place from where he set out to explain those things to us. He started with the Devil and the Antichrist, and the defeat and punishment of the nations which collaborated with them. So he is now going to supply what was earlier left unsaid. He links Gog to the rest of the nations who fought with the Antichrist. The blessed prophet Ezekiel also told us about Gog and Magog, describing the evil end of evil men. These will be some of the nations and their leaders at the end of the age, (Ez. 38-39) but they do not now exist, or they are some of the present nations called by other names in holy Scripture. So these will be allies of detested Satan in his fight against the slaves of Christ.
And they will surround the beloved city: That is the Church.
fire from heaven: it will destroy them all, and after the end has been reaches, Satan, the origin of all the evil, together with the Devil and the Antichrist, will be thrown into the lake of fire, that is Gehenna.
According to Oecumenius
The prophet explains to us, "For a 1000 years in your sight, Lord, are like yesterday which is past, and a watch in the night.(Ps. 89:4)" So, then, the thousand years are reckoned as one day in the eyes of God. The second letter of the blessed Peter says the same, when he writes, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2Pet. 3:8)" So this is how it is: blessed Isaiah calls the whole incarnation of the Lord "a day," saying, "In a time of grace I heard you, and in a day of salvation I assisted you. (Is. 49:8)" Neither is this all: the psalmist also, calls it a day and an early morning, saying somewhere, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 117:24) with the joy of our salvation; elsewhere he sings, "in the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning I will stand by you, and you will see me. (Ps. 5:4)" For our prayers have been counted accepted and worthy of the vision of God the Father. They have become so by the intercession and atonement of the Lord. And again he says about Jerusalem, "God will help her in the early morning.(Ps. 45:6)" The incarnation of the Lord has become the day and morning, when 'the sun of righteousness, as Malachi call Him, shone upon us,(4:2) and brought us 'the light of knowledge.(Hos. 10:12)' Zechariah prophesied about this divine light saying, "When the rising of the sun dawned upon us from on high, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. (Lk. 1:78-79; Zec. 14:6-7)" In accord with this the prophet also said, "The Lord is God, and He has shone upon us; bind the festal procession together with branches, up to the horns of the alter.(Ps. 117:29)"
Since all this has already been explained, we must proceed to the matter in hand. Since I have already said that a day is reckoned 'as a 1000 years' by God, and again that the earthly residence of the Lord has been called 'a day' he says this day is a 1000 years, as though there is no distinction with God between one day and a 1000 years. It was in this period of the Lord's incarnation that the Devil was bound, so that he was unable to oppose the Savior's divine miracles. This was why the destructive demons recognized these spiritual bonds and cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of the living God? Have you come to torment us before the time?(Mt. 8:29)" The Lord also when talking of stripping off the bonds, said, "Or how can anyone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.(Mt. 12:29)" Since as was said, we have considered the incarnation of the Lord and his earthly residence to be both 'one day' and a 1000 years, such a number being used indifferently in Holy Scripture in mystical fashion, see what the Revelation says..
I saw another angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the bottomless pit and a chain, and bound him and threw him into the pit: As if in a sketch on a canvas, the evangelist perceives the spiritual action of the Lord against the Devil. Since it was not possible for a human being such as John to see spiritual events, they are depicted for him in physical terms- an angel with a chain binding the devil and throwing him into the bottomless pit. For this is how the book of Job also expressed in physical terms the Devil's venture and God's consent: it depicted the Devil begging God to give him Job, and it depicted God as making a suitable response to his request and giving him Job, and then went on to write the story. So you will be right in thinking that I am now doing the same.
That he should no longer deceive the nation, till the 1000 years were ended: For the Lord's sojourn on earth had to provide rather more succor and care so that the unclean demons might be prevented from exercising the same influence on human beings as they had in the time preceding the incarnation.
After that he must be loosed for a little while: What sort of little while does he mean? that between the incarnation of the Lord and the end of the present age; for this sort even if it may seem to be very long, when reckoned and compared with the past and the future. For if in the "last" hour, even in 'the eleventh' hour.(Mt. 20:6,9) our Lord appeared in bodily form to us, according to the belief of Holy Scripture, the time until the end has rightly been called short, after which the Devil will be bound again with an eternal and endless bond. But even now that he has been released, bind again, Lord, his wiles against us. For you are our king, and to you is due glory for ever. Amen.
Then I saw the thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was committed to them: He sees in his vision the holy apostles ‘seated on 12 thrones’ and ‘judging the 12 tribes of Israel, (Mt. 19:28)’ according to the promise made to them. Although this will be more fully effected in the age to come, it has already happened in some way in the time of the incarnation. For those who put their trust in the Lord and so received a share in countless benefits condemned those who refused to hasten to the faith and so, though taught by the grace given to the Apostles, did not attain the true worship of God, but rather devised a cross and death for him.
And the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony in Jesus and for the word of God: the verb ‘I saw’ in the phrase ‘those seated upon thrones and judging the rest of mankind’ is to be understood here, too. By ‘those who had been beheaded’ he means those who had been killed with an axe. He is speaking figuratively about those who had been put to death their own bodies because of their faith in Christ, and who endured very much because of it. For they expelled them from the synagogues, assaulted them with countless abuses, and plundered their personal possessions, when they put their faith entirely in Christ, as the wise apostle testifies.(Heb. 10:34) The Lord also spoke of them, “blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.(Matt. 5:11)” If you follow the sequence of the argument and subject every thought in obedience to Holy Scripture, you will understand that those who did not worship ‘the beast’ and did not receive ‘its mark or it image’ are those who did not agree with the rest of the Jews in their plots against the Lord, and who refused to obey the propositions of the abominable and blasphemous Devil. For this is to worship him and ‘his image.’ For by the word ‘image’ he means the imprint of the Devil’s will in the hearts of the Jews. He also means that this ‘mark’ includes both control and action. For the head, of which the forehead is a part, stands for control and the hand stands for action.
They came to life and reigned with Christ for a 1000 years: as was said earlier; he again calls the Lord’s domicile on earth ‘a 1000 years,’ during which they were living their spiritual life, and reigning together with Christ, as they gave orders to demons, by being present with Christ, the king of glory, that a person reigns together with him.(2Tim. 2:10-12) So the prophet said of them, “When the Heavenly One gives the orders, kings will be covered with snow in Salmon.(Ps. 67:15)”
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were ended: he call ‘dead’ those who have persisted in unbelief, about whom the Lord also said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.(Mt. 8:22)” So the unbelievers did not ‘come’ to the spiritual life until the time of the incarnation had ended, which is the ‘1000 year’; for they came to life only after this. How? By the coming and presence of the Holy Spirit. For by then most of the Jews had come to faith in Christ, who did not believe in him when he was physically dwelling and moving among them. The event was most divinely ordered, beyond the hope of any human mind. For when the Son had been proclaimed and made know in the old covenant as well as by his incarnation and his countless divine signs and miracle, the Holy Spirit had not yet been clearly revealed to man. There was only a report about the Spirit in the old covenant, but there was no manifest and perceptible work of the kind which specifically leads people to faith, as there was of the Son, even though the Spirit was being made known to those who had attained the depth of vision, because everything which has been done and effected has been accomplished by the Holy Trinity. The Lord clearly proves this, saying somewhere, “The Father has told me what I am to say and what I am to speak,(Jn. 12:49)” and again, “I can do nothing on my own,(Jn. 8:28)” referring the event s to the Trinity; and again in John, “The Son of man can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees his Father doing.(Jn. 5:19)” and elsewhere he asserts, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God.(Mt. 12:28)” But since as I have said, there was no perceptible work of the Holy Spirit available to human beings, it was arranged that almost all people should receive faith in Christ by the coming and the power of the Paraclete and of God the Father, in order that it might be clear to everyone that the Spirit was of the same substance as the Father and the Son, and possessed of the same power. Of course in the whole period of the incarnation not more than ‘a hundred and twenty’ are recorded as having been believers.(Acts 1:15) this was the number reckoned by Acts of those assembled in the upper room. Even if the power of the teaching of Christ had reached many others, their faith was maintained by the coming of the Spirit. So one might find that, just as when seed has been scattered the rain comes down and the sun shines upon all the seeds that up to this time have been unnoticed in the earth, and then they spring up and become visible, because they were wholly stored up in the earth, so too, the same thing happens at the coming of the Holy Spirit. All those in whom the teaching of the Lord had been sown sprang up into faith. So the Revelation accurately says that ‘the rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years had ended.’
This is the first resurrection: that is to say, which results from faith. The second will be the universal bodily resurrection.
Blessed is the one who has a share in the first resurrection: for we shall all have a share in the second, whether we like it or not.
second death will not have any power: that is, over those who share in the first resurrection, that is, the faithful. What sort of death is this? It is that quite clearly which results from sin and is followed by punishment. For just as he has spoken of the first and the second resurrection, so he speaks of the first and second death. The first one is the physical death, which separates the soul and the body, but the second death is the spiritual death, resulting from sin. The Lord said of this, “Do not fear those who kill the body; but rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.(Mt. 10:28)”
shall be priests of God and of Christ: That is, all the faithful were appointed priests of the evangelical word, about whom the prophet, striking the prophetic lyre, said, “You will make them rulers over the whole world.(Ps. 44:7)”
And they shall reign with Him for a 1000 years: which are the years of the incarnation, as I have said more than once.
And when the 1000 years are ended: That is, when the Lord has completed his course in the flesh and has gone back into Heaven, the Devil will be set free from his spiritual bonds and will again ‘deceive the nation.’ For it has already been said that the dwelling of the Lord with man nullified the activity of the Devil. But once the Lord has gone up into Heaven, both the Devil himself will carry on his own customary activity, and man on earth in their usual way will follow their free will. In the face of the Devil’s attempts to deceive everybody, some obey him, while others who refuse to do so struggle against the evil one. But perhaps someone will say, ‘Why in the world was the Devil, whose assault was restrained and hell in check by the bodily presence of the Lord again set free to deceive us upon the earth? For would it not have been setter for him to have been bound, and for man to continue undeceived” To such a one we should reply, “Why do you rather say, ‘Why did the Devil come into being at all, or when he had been created and then transgressed, why was he not utterly destroyed, to prevent him getting access against man?’ And how, my good fellow, would the contestants have been trained without any opponent? And how would the might of athletes have been shown if there were no competitors? For slothful man, giving way to their desires, go all awry when left to themselves without the presence of provocation of the Devil, whereas the people of God and noble contestants would be unfairly treated if they were not able publicly to display their courage in the face of their sufferings. So it turns out that whereas the slothful would have not benefit if Satan did not exist, the noble would suffer great unfairness. For Satan is a kind of trainer of human beings, providing an opportunity for the contestants to receive a crown of victory. For those who love sin, who in the absence of the Devil, have not been at all unfairly treated, as I have said. So in spite of himself he does well to some, and does harm, or very little to others. But on account of you and me, ‘the slaves of sin,’ irresponsible and irresolute, in order that we might suffer little or no further harm from the activity of the Devil, you wanted patriarchs and prophets, apostles and evangelist, those who had preserved in their witness to Christ unto death and had kept loyalty with him, as well as confessors and pastors who had faithfully guided the churches, and the most steadfast ascetics, and every righteous person perfected in the faith of Christ, ‘of whom this world was not worthy’ –you wanted them all to be deprived of glory. The noble contenders for virtue alleviate the penalty of those sinners who for quite a short time suffer harm. A single person who acts rightly is more honored by God than countless others who break faith.”
Both events have been effected in the best and most inspired way- the impious assaults of the Devil were checked during the bodily presence of the Lord, and after the Lord's ascension into heaven the Devil was freed to test man. For if Satan had been allowed to display all his activity when the Lord was dwelling on earth, he would not have permitted people either to hear his divine teachings or to learn who it is who is naturally and truly God, or the nature of the holy worship due to him, or the difference between evil and goodness. he would also have prepared the cross for him before the time, even before he began his teaching. If this had happened, the incarnation of the Lord and such a wonderfully glorious mystery would have been incomplete, or rather useless. But after those on earth had been taught these things while the Devil was in bondage, they were then able to use their own free will, and to continue the fight against the adversary on the basis of acknowledged and recognized ways both of evil and of good. For one who knows the good and that which is not so good is entirely free to choose either this or that. But one who does not know what he could do, is like a man wounded in a night battle who does not realize that he has been hit, and therefore does not recognize his own destruction. For the one who knows his adversaries has the opportunity to choose what he wishes, but there is no such opportunity for one who is ignorant.
For God created man in the beginning with free will and controlled by their own reasoning powers. But because they first needed to know good and evil, so that in this way there may be room for free will, see what Moses the divine lawgiver says in Deuteronomy to the disobedient people of the Israelites, "See I have set before your eyes this day life and death, good and evil, (Dt. 30:15)" so that the choice may be freely made between both. Again he says tin Exodus, "If you hearken attentively to my voice and do all that I say to you.(Ex. 23:22)" And what about Isaiah, who sets forth the same teaching near the beginning of his prophecy, saying in the person of God, "If you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and do not listen to me, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.(Is. 1:19-20)"
the Devil will come and deceive the nations: he now identifies the nations and their leaders.....
Gog and Magog gather them for war: the war is that against the saints: For after completing the account of the saving incarnation, he has returned to the place from where he set out to explain those things to us. He started with the Devil and the Antichrist, and the defeat and punishment of the nations which collaborated with them. So he is now going to supply what was earlier left unsaid. He links Gog to the rest of the nations who fought with the Antichrist. The blessed prophet Ezekiel also told us about Gog and Magog, describing the evil end of evil men. These will be some of the nations and their leaders at the end of the age, (Ez. 38-39) but they do not now exist, or they are some of the present nations called by other names in holy Scripture. So these will be allies of detested Satan in his fight against the slaves of Christ.
And they will surround the beloved city: That is the Church.
fire from heaven: it will destroy them all, and after the end has been reaches, Satan, the origin of all the evil, together with the Devil and the Antichrist, will be thrown into the lake of fire, that is Gehenna.
JohnLitteral |
Latest page update: made by JohnLitteral
, Jun 10 2008, 10:44 PM EDT
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